>> NEW CASE NUMBERS ARE DOWN, DEATHS AND HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE DOWN, SHOT NUMBERS ARE UP.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

WE ASK DEPARTMENT OF HEATH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY DOCTOR MANDY COHEN.

♪ >> THANK YOU FOR TALKING WITH US AGAIN SECRETARY COHEN.

ALWAYS GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU.

I KNOW YOU HAVE TO BE HEARTENED A LITTLE BIT WITH THE DECLINE IN THE NUMBER OF NEW CASES, DECLINE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS, EVEN OUR PERCENT POSITIVE, IS GOING DOWN SOME.

THE QUESTION I THINK ALL OF US WANT TO KNOW IS IT IS THIS JUST A BLIP IN THE ROAD RIGHT NOW OR CAN WE EXPECT THESE NUMBERS TO CONTINUE TO DECLINE?

>> FIRST TOM, ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU AND YES, I AM VERY HAPPY TO SEE OUR TRENDS MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, YOU REMEMBER AT THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY I WAS INCREDIBLY WORRIED.

WE WERE AT OUR HIGHEST LEVELS OF HOSPITALIZATIONS AND WE WERE REALLY WORKING HARD TO MAIN MAINTAIN OUR HOSPITAL CAPACITY.

WE SAW OUR HOSPITALS HAVING TO STOP DOING URGENT - ANYTHING THAT WASN'T URGENT THEY HAD TO STOP DOING IN TERMS OF PROCEDURES, WE'RE MOVING PATIENTS AROUND SO WE'RE IN MUCH BETTER SHAPE, SO WE HAVE SOME BREATHING ROOM NOW, IF YOU WILL, IN OUR HOSPITAL CAPACITY.

WE SEE OUR CASES GOING DOWN.

I THINK WE SAW WHAT WE EXPECTED WHICH IS A SPIKE OVER THE HOLIDAYS, I MEAN IT STARTED YOU WITH THANKSGIVING AND IT REALLY NEVER WENT DOWN.

IT JUST WENT UP WITH CHRISTMAS, UP WITH NEW YEARS.

LUCKILY WE'RE PAST THAT NOW.

THE THING THAT CONCERNS ME AND FOLKS HAVE BEEN HERE ABOUT IS THE FACT THAT WE HAVE NEW VARIANTS OF THE VIRUS HERE IN THE COUNTRY AND HERE IN THE STATE.

AND SO WHILE OUR TRENDS ARE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, WE DEFINITELY CANNOT LET DOWN OUR GUARD.

>> WELL TALK ABOUT THOSE VARIANTS A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE A NICE SEGUE INTO MY SECOND QUESTION BY THE WAY.

THE VARIANTS WE HEAR ABOUT THE THE UK VARIANT THE AFRICAN VARIANT.

HOW NOTICEABLE DO YOU FIND THEM IN NORTH CAROLINA NOW AND WHY SHOULD WE BE WORRIED ABOUT THOSE VARIANTS?

>> WELL FIRST THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THEM AND IT'S NOT SURPRISING.

THIS VIRUS DOES WHAT IT WANTS TO DO WHICH IS CHANGE.

IT CHANGED AND ADAPTS SO IT CAN KEEP SPREADING AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING, AND SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING FOR SOME OF THESE VARIANCES THAT THEY ARE MORE CONTAGIOUS, WHICH MEANS IT WILL MOVE EVEN FASTER.

AND I WANT TO STEP BACK FOR A SECOND TO TALK ABOUT CONTAGIOUSNESS OF DIFFERENT VIRUSES.

YOU KNOW IT'S INTERESTING WE JUST PUT OUT DATA TO REMIND FOLKS THAT IT'S ACTUALLY STILL FLU SEASON.

REMEMBER FLU?

WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT.

ACTUALLY WE'RE SEEING VERY VERY VERY LOW LEVELS OF FLU ACTIVITY HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA AND FRANKLY AROUND THE COUNTRY AROUND THE WORLD.

AND WHAT IT SHOWS IS THAT THE PREVENTIVE MEASURES THAT WE ARE TAKING FOR COVID ARE REALLY WORKING TO PREVENT FLU.

AND IT JUST SHOWS HOW MUCH MORE CONTAGIOUS COVID IS THAN FLU BECAUSE WE SEE COVID IS STILL SPREADING WE STILL HAVE THOUSANDS OF CASES EVERY SINGLE DAY WE'RE NOT HAVING ANY FLU CASES RIGHT.

AND SO IT SHOWS HOW MUCH MORE CONTAGIOUS COVID IS BUT NOW WE HAVE THESE VARIANTS THAT ARE EVEN MORE CONTAGIOUS AND THAT DOES OBVIOUSLY MAKE ME CONCERNED.

BUT I WILL SAY IT'S STILL THE THE MINORITY OF THE CASES THAT WE'RE SEEING.

I THINK WE'VE IDENTIFIED BETWEEN 20 AND 25 FOLKS TO HAVE HAD ONE OF THE UK VARIANCE HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA, WE HAVE NOT IDENTIFIED IN NORTH CAROLINA THE OTHER VARIANTS BUT WE ARE ACTING AS IF THEY ARE HERE.

THEY'RE NOT DOMINANT, BUT THEY'RE HERE AND IT DOES MEAN THAT WE HAVE TO KEEP DOING THE THINGS WE KNOW WORK.

THE 3 W'S DO WORK.

IF WE WEREN'T DOING THEM, WE WOULD BE IN SO MUCH WORSE SHAPE THAN WE ARE AND I THINK THE COMPARISON TO THE FLU NUMBERS SHOWS US.

WE ARE DOING PREVENTION, IT IS WORKING, BUT WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR GUARD UP AND KEEP DOING IT.

>> THERE WAS ONE PIECE OF SAD NEWS THAT YOU REPORTED AT YOUR PRESS CONFERENCE ON TUESDAY, AND THAT WAS WE'VE PASSED THE MILESTONE OF 10,000 DEATHS IN NORTH CAROLINA, AND YOU SAID THAT MOST OF THOSE IN FACT, 83% OF THOSE DEATHS CAME FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE 65 AND OLDER.

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF HOSPITALIZATIONS WE ALSO KNOW HOSPITALIZATIONS EQUATE TOO OFTEN TO DEATHS.

SO THAT'S SAD NEWS FOR PEOPLE.

BUT IT DOES SHOW WHY WE'RE EMPHASIZING GETTING THESE SHOTS TO OF PEOPLE OVER 65 RIGHT?

>> THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT TOM, YEAH, IT'S A SOBERING NUMBER ACROSS 10,000 DEATHS JUST IN COMPARISON IN A NORMAL NORMAL, EVEN BAD FLU SEASON, WE ARE BETWEEN 200 AND 300 DEATHS FROM FLU.

THAT'S A BAD FLU SEASON FOR US.

WE'RE AT 10,000 DEATHS IN ONE SEASON, IF YOU WILL, AGAIN IT'S BEEN A VERY LONG YEAR OF THE SEASON AND BECAUSE IT'S THE FIRST YEAR OF THIS, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY SEASONALITY BUT 10,000 DEATHS IN LESS THAN A YEAR IS A SOBERING STATISTIC AND REMINDS US HOW DEADLY THIS VIRUS CAN BE, BUT YOU ARE RIGHT, IT IS REALLY OUR FOLKS WHO ARE OVER 65, WHO ARE BEING WORST IMPACTED BY THIS AND EXACTLY WHY WE'RE FOCUSED ON VACCINATING THOSE WHO ARE 65 AND UP.

IN THIS FIRST ROUND OF VACCINATIONS AND WE'RE DOING A GOOD JOB WE ARE REACHING THAT POPULATION QUITE WELL ACTUALLY WE'RE A BIT OVER 50% REACHED IN THE 75 PLUS ABOUT 40 OR SO IN THE 65 TO 75 RANGE AND SO WE'RE DOING A GOOD JOB, BUT WE HAVE A LOT MORE TO DO.

WE KNOW THAT THERE IS A LOT OF DEMAND OUT THERE FOR THOSE WHO ARE 65 UP YOU WANT VACCINES AND HAVEN'T GOTTEN IT YET.

>> IT FEELS LIKE WE'RE IN A RACE.

HOW FAST CAN WE GO TO GET VACCINE IN PEOPLE'S ARMS BECAUSE THE VARIANTS AND THE VIRUS ARE ALSO DANGEROUS ENOUGH TO SPEED UP NUMBERS OF CASES WHICH WE WANT TO KEEP DOWN, IS THAT A FAIRLY ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF RACE?

>> IT IS, BUT UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE SLOWED DOWN IN THE RACE BY THE SUPPLY OF THE VACCINE.

SO IT'S NOT THAT WE CAN'T GET THE SHOTS IN ARMS FAST ENOUGH BECAUSE ACTUALLY OUR VACCINE PROVIDERS COULD PROBABLY DO 3 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF VACCINATING THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO DO BECAUSE OF SUPPLY.

THEY TELL US WEEK-OVER-WEEK GIVE US MORE WE CAN DO MORE WHICH IS WE'RE SO LUCKY IN NORTH CAROLINA THAT THAT'S THE POSITION WE'RE IN.

WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE SUPPLY TO GIVE THEM.

WE ARE ONLY GETTING ABOUT A 150,000 FIRST DOSES WEEK-OVER-WEEK BUT WE KNOW THE DEMAND IS MUCH HIGHER THAN THAT AND WE KNOW OUR CAPACITY TO GIVE THOSE VACCINES IS HIGHER.

SO IT IS FRUSTRATING THAT WE DON'T HAVE MORE SUPPLY SO IT HOBBLES US IN THAT RACE THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT.

WE DO WANT TO GET VACCINE OUT QUICKLY BUT WE NEED MORE SUPPLY AND I KNOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S WORKING ON IT AND THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION'S ACTUALLY DONE A GREAT JOB WEEK-OVER-WEEK THEY'VE ACTUALLY GIVEN US MORE EACH WEEK, BUT IT'S YOU KNOW 5% OR 10% MORE WE'RE STILL IN SMALL NUMBERS HERE SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY THIS NEXT VACCINE THAT IS BEING REVIEWED BY THE FDA RIGHT NOW, A JOHNSON JOHNSON VACCINE.

SO I THINK THAT'S THE NEXT THING THAT WILL HELP WITH THE SUPPLY SIDE.

>> I WANT TO TALK ABOUT AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT YOU MADE ON WEDNESDAY, BUT BEFORE I DO THAT YOU SPENT A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME IN YOUR TUESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE TALKING ABOUT THE EFFORTS TO TRY TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF VACCINATIONS WITH PEOPLE OF COLOR.

CHARLES EVANS, HEAD OF THE BLACK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION OF NORTH CAROLINA WAS WITH YOU AND HE SAID THAT AFRICAN AMERICANS ACCOUNT FOR 22% OF OUR POPULATION BUT HAD ONLY HAD 13% OF THE VACCINATIONS TODAY.

FIRST IS THAT NUMBER FAIRLY ACCURATE?

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU'RE DOING TO TRY TO INCREASE THIS?

>> YES, WELL, THE NUMBERS ARE ACCURATE AND FOLKS CAN LOOK ON OUR DASHBOARD AND SEE OUR RACE ETHNICITY DATA BY STATE AS WELL AS BY COUNTY.

SO YOU SHOULD GO AND LOOK AT THAT DATA FOR YOURSELF AND YES, THEY ARE 22% OF THE POPULATION GETTING ABOUT 13% OF OUR VACCINES, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT WE'VE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS.

WHAT WE SAW IN THE MIDDLE OF JANUARY AS WE WERE CLOSER TO 10%.

WHAT WE'VE SEEN WEEK-OVER-WEEK WE'RE ABOUT 10% ACTUALLY IN THE LAST WEEK WE GOT UP TO 18 PER CENT OF OUR WEEKLY VACCINES WERE ADMINISTERED TO THOSE WHO ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN SO THAT WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS BUT WE HAVE A LOT MORE WORK TO DO AS GOOD AS THE CHAIRMAN MENTIONED YESTERDAY WHEN WE HAD THAT PRESS CONFERENCE, AND SO WE'RE DOING IT A LOT OF WAYS.

FIRST IT STARTS WITH ALLOCATING THE VACCINE.

WE GOT TO MAKE SURE IT'S GETTING TO EVERY COMMUNITY ALL 100 COUNTIES, AND WE'RE GETTING AN INCREASE IN VACCINE FOR A VACCINE PROVIDERS THAT ARE MINISTERING TO THOSE WHO ARE 65 AND OLDER AND HAVE A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF MINORITY COMMUNITIES IN THE AREA THAT THEY SERVE, AND SO THAT'S THE START THEN WE ALSO USE SOME OF OUR VACCINE ALLOCATION FOR SPECIAL EVENTS BUT THOSE SPECIAL EVENTS NEED TO TARGET OUR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES FOR US TO SUPPORT THEM AND SO OUR PROVIDERS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB AT THIS.

NOW WE HAVE MORE WORK TO DO I SHARED A NUMBER OF EXAMPLES YESTERDAY AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE IN ALL PARTS OF THE STATE WHERE THEY'RE USING DIFFERENT MECHANISMS AND TACTICS TO REACH SOMETIMES IT'S PARTNERING WITH A LOCAL CHURCH SOMETIMES IT'S HOLDING BACK UP APPOINTMENTS AND SAYING NO 30% OF OUR APPOINTMENTS TODAY ARE GOING TO BE FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISPANIC LATIN X POPULATION.

OTHER TIMES IT'S MOBILE UNITS, YOU KNOW, SO THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH FOLKS ARE ARE GETTING AT THIS AND WE WANT TO BE SUPPORTIVE OF ALL OF THOSE PARTNERSHIPS ACROSS THE STATE I THINK WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS.

>> CHAIRMAN EVANS REFERRED TO THE FACT THAT OF COURSE IN MANY INSTANCES, THESE MINORITIES, THE BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES ARE UNDERSERVED SO FAR AS HEALTH CARE ISSUES ANYWAY, BUT HE ALSO SPENT A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE RELUCTANCE OF PEOPLE OF COLOR.

AND THE DISTRUST, MANY OF THEM HAVE TOWARD THESE VACCINES.

HE HAD A VERY STRONG MESSAGE TRYING TO ENCOURAGE MINORITY COMMUNITIES TO TAKE THE SHOTS.

WHAT ELSE ARE YOU DOING TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE THAT?

>> SURE, WELL FIRST, IT'S ABOUT GETTING GOOD INFORMATION OUT AND NOT JUST THE INFORMATION, BUT IT'S THE MESSENGERS.

THAT'S WHY IT WAS SO IMPORTANT FOR COMMISSIONER EVANS TO BE WITH US BECAUSE I'M SHARING GOOD INFORMATION BUT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR FOLKS TO HEAR FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT TRUSTED VOICES ABOUT THE VACCINE AND ABOUT FOLKS WILLINGNESS TO GET THE VACCINE.

SO FOR EXAMPLE WE HAVE MORE THAN 30 PSA'S NOW THAT ARE RECORDED AND OF PROMINENT AFRICAN-AMERICAN LEADERS, PASTORS AND OTHERS WHO HAVE ROLLED UP THEIR SLEEVE TO GET THEIR SHOT THEY TALK ABOUT WHY THEY'RE DOING IT AND ACTUALLY WE'VE ALREADY TALKED WITH FIRST RESPONDERS WHO ARE FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY HISPANIC, LATINX TO SHARE THEIR STORIES.

I THINK THAT MESSENGER IS REALLY IMPORTANT HERE BUT I WANT TO CAUTION US THAT - AND BLACK LEADERS HAVE CAUTIONED ME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT SAYING HESITANCY IS THE REASON WE'RE NOT SEEING THE NUMBERS HERE THERE IS DEMAND IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY FOR VACCINES AND WE HAVE TO WORK HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE EARNING THEIR TRUST AND ALSO MAKING VACCINE ACCESSIBLE TO THEM.

>> YOU MADE A SIGNIFICANT ANNOUNCEMENT ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON IN YOUR PRESS CONFERENCE.

SHARE THE INFORMATION WITH US.

>> YES, WELL FIRST, I WOULD SAY THAT WE KNOW THAT THE ANNOUNCEMENT IS REALLY BASED ON THE FACT THAT OUR SUPPLY OF VACCINE IS REALLY LOW STILL AS WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT.

OUR VACCINE PROVIDERS COULD DO MORE JUST OUR SUPPLY IS LOW, WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO IN VACCINATING THOSE ARE 65, SO WHAT WE ANNOUNCED TODAY IS THAT 2 WEEKS FROM TODAY STARTING ON FEBRUARY 24TH, IS WHEN WE'RE GOING TO START VACCINATING OUR FRONTLINE ESSENTIAL WORKERS.

BUT WE ALSO KNOW AGAIN BECAUSE OF THAT SUPPLY THAT IS A BIG GROUP OF FOLKS.

IT IS OUR TEACHERS OUR POLICE OFFICERS OUR CLERGY, OUR FIREFIGHTERS.

IT'S A LOT, IT'S A VERY VERY BIG GROUP AND WE DEFINITELY HEARD FROM OUR VACCINE PROVIDERS SAYING LOOK SUPPLY IS SO LOW.

THIS GROUP IS SO BIG WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO SORT OF STEP THROUGH THIS.

AND SO WE WE DID ANNOUNCE TODAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO START STEPPING THROUGH OUR GROUP OF A FRONTLINE ESSENTIAL WORKERS STARTING WITH OUR CHILDCARE, FOLKS WORK IN CHILD CARE AND THOSE WHO ARE PRE-K TO 12 TEACHERS AND THE PERSONNEL WHO WORK IN OUR SCHOOLS OR BUS DRIVERS OR CAFETERIA STAFF.

SO THAT'S STILL A HUGE GROUP OF FOLKS TO TO GET THROUGH, BUT I THINK WILL HELP US AS WE'RE IN THIS MOMENT OF LIMITED SUPPLY AND I'M HOPING BY MARCH 10TH WHEN WE HOPE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH OTHER FRONTLINE WORKERS, THAT WE WILL BOTH HAVE MORE SUPPLY AND MAYBE EVEN A 3RD VACCINE.

>> YEAH, I GUESS MY QUESTION TO ALL OF THAT IS WE'RE STILL HEARING AN AWFUL LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE 65 AND OLDER TALKING ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY THEY'RE HAVING TRYING TO GET APPOINTMENTS.

NOW IN 2 WEEKS WE'RE GOING TO OPEN THIS UP TO GROUP 3 SO TO SPEAK.

HOW'S THAT GOING TO WORK OUT?

I MEAN WE'VE WE'VE ADMINISTERED ABOUT 1.4 MILLION DOSES OF VACCINE SO FAR, WHICH IS IT A GOOD NUMBER, BUT OUR POPULATION IS AROUND 11 MILLION.

SO THERE'S A LOT TO BE DONE THERE.

>> WE HAVE WORK TO DO.

>> YEAH A LOT OF WORK TO DO.

SO HOW IS ALL OF THIS GOING TO WORK OUT?

I MEAN WE'RE GETTING A 150,000 DOSES PER WEEK, YOU ANNOUNCED TUESDAY WE'RE GETTING ANOTHER 5% BUMP.

LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT A SUPPLY AND DEMAND PROBLEM HERE.

>> WE DO TOM.

WE JUST DO HAVE A SUPPLY AND DEMAND PROBLEM WE HAVE MORE DEMAND AND NOT ENOUGH SUPPLY, AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHY WE SAID LOOK WE HAVE TO GIVE IT ANOTHER 2 WEEKS BEFORE WE CAN MOVE TO FRONTLINE ESSENTIAL WORKERS, WE DO HAVE BIG DEMAND FOR FOR VACCINE AND THOSE OVER 65 AND UP AGAIN THE REASON WE STARTED WITH THEN THAT IS WHERE FOLKS ARE AFFECTED IN TERMS OF DEATH AND HOSPITALIZATION.

SO WE DEFINITELY WANT TO PRIORITIZE.

AND WHAT I WOULD SAY YES WE WILL MOVE ON IT WILL BE THE EARLIEST THAT OUR VACCINE PROVIDERS CAN MOVE, BUT I WANT TO ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO SAY YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.

WE'RE GOING TO KEEP VACCINATING THOSE ARE 65 PLUS.

SO IT'S NOT LIKE THE DOOR SHUTS ON THEM.

THE DOOR REMAINS OPEN.

WE WILL ADD, AND AND IT WILL TAKE TIME TO ADD THE TEACHERS, ADD THE CHILDCARE WORKERS, ADD OUR BUS DRIVERS, IT WILL TAKE TIME.

SO IT'S NOT ALL ON FEBRUARY 24TH ARE WE EVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET TO EVERYONE EVEN IN THAT GROUP, SO IT IS FRUSTRATING, I KNOW IT, BUT IT IS ALSO THE REASON TOM I WANT TO POINT THIS OUT SPECIFICALLY THAT GETTING VACCINATED FOR OUR TEACHERS IS NOT A PREREQUISITE FOR GETTING BACK IN THE CLASSROOM AND I WANT TO MAKE THAT POINT REALLY CLEAR.

THE DATA CONTINUES TO SHOW THAT IF WE USE THE SAFETY PROTOCOLS MASKS, WASHING DOWN SERVICES, THE SCREENING PROTOCOLS, THE SOCIAL DISTANCING THAT SCHOOLS ARE ACTUALLY LOW TRANSMISSION SETTINGS.

AND THAT'S GOOD.

SO WE WANT TO SEE OUR KIDS BACK IN THE CLASSROOM, I KNOW OUR TEACHERS WANT TO GET BACK INTO THE CLASSROOM, I WANT TO GET THEM VACCINES AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN, BUT WE KNOW THE SUPPLY IS LIMITED, SO THAT IS NOT SOMETHING WE NEED TO WAIT FOR IN ORDER TO GET BACK INTO THE CLASSROOM.

SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I MADE THAT POINT BUT AGAIN WE WANT TO GET THE VACCINE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BUT THAT THAT CAN'T BE A PREREQUISITE FOR GETTING BACK IN THE CLASSROOM AND FRANKLY, THE DATA SHOWS US IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE.

WE NEED TO FOLLOW THE PROTOCOLS, THE PROTOCOLS WON'T CHANGE.

SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON.

>> THE LEGISLATURE IS GETTING READY TO PASS A BILL WHICH REQUIRES KIDS TO GO BACK TO CLASS.

NOW THERE ARE DIFFERENT CRITERIA FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS VERSUS MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL KIDS.

TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT.

>> YEAH, IT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW I DON'T BELIEVE THE LEGISLATION DISTINGUISHES THIS POINT.

FOR OUR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL FOLKS, WE REALLY THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN THE 6 FEET OF SOCIAL DISTANCE.

THIS IS BECAUSE IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL VIRAL TRANSMISSION SEEMS TO BE THE CLOSEST TO WHAT WE SEE IN ADULTS.

UNDER THE AGE OF 10 OR MORE IN ELEMENTARY AGE STUDENTS IT DOES SEEM TO HAVE HAVE LESS VIRAL TRANSMISSION AND THAT IS WHERE WE ARE SAYING, THAT IS WHERE LESS THAN 6 FEET OF SOCIAL DISTANCE CAN BE OK AND WE HAVE STUDIED IT AND WE CAN SHOW THAT EVEN WITH LESS THAN 6 FEET OF SOCIAL DISTANCE THAT WE DON'T SEE THE VIRAL TRANSMISSION.

BUT WE DO THINK THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELEMENTARY MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL AND SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE FOLKS UNDERSTAND THAT FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL, JUST BECAUSE WE'RE SAYING 6 FEET OF SOCIAL DISTANCE, DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN AUTOMATICALLY THEY CAN'T BE IN SCHOOL EVERY DAY, BECAUSE EVERY MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL HAS A DIFFERENT PHYSICAL LAYOUT, SO IF THE SCHOOL IS BIG ENOUGH OR FRANKLY ENOUGH STUDENTS HAVE OPTED FOR VIRTUAL LEARNING, IT MAY BE POSSIBLE TO BRING ALL OF THE KIDS BACK EVERY DAY, AND NOT HAVE TO GO TO HYBRID EVEN IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL AS LONG AS YOU CAN MAINTAIN THE 6 FEET OF SOCIAL DISTANCE THAT IS AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION HERE THAT WE HAVE MADE.

>> WITHOUT GETTING INTO THE POLITICS OF IT IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE EACH SCHOOL SYSTEM MAYBE EVEN EACH SCHOOL IS GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE A CASE BY CASE DETERMINATION THEMSELVES ABOUT HOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO CARRY OFF THESE SAFETY PROTOCOLS WITHOUT HAVING JUST AN ABSOLUTE MANDATE, YOU GOT TO START BACK IN SCHOOLS.

>> I THINK WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE OF SAYING THAT THERE IS A WAY TO GET KIDS BACK IN SCHOOL ELEMENTARY MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL.

THERE ARE PROTOCOLS THAT WORK THAT EVERYONE CAN BE IN IN-PERSON SCHOOL RIGHT NOW.

SO I THINK WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE AND MOVING THE SAME DIRECTION I THINK THE WAY WE GET THERE IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT I'D LIKE TO SEE FOLKS MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE MAINTAINING OUR PROTOCOLS BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WERE STUDIED.

>> BASED ON THE DEMAND THAT YOU'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW GOING BACK TO VACCINATIONS BASED ON THE DEMAND THAT YOU'RE SEEING, HOW MANY DOSES WOULD WE NEED?

YOU SAID WE GET A 150,000 A WEEK TO GET READY TO INCREASE BY 5% HOPEFULLY MORE, PARTICULARLY WHEN THE NEW JOHNSON & JOHNSON VACCINE COMES OUT WHICH LOOKS LIKE IT'S MORE AND MORE PROBABLE HOW MANY DOSES DO WE NEED A WEEK?

HOW MANY SHOULD WE GET?

>> IT'S A REALLY -- YEAH, NO IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

SO REMEMBER THAT THE 2 VACCINES WE HAVE NOW ARE 2 DOSES RIGHT?

JOHNSON & JOHNSON IS GOING TO BE A ONE DOSE VACCINE THAT COULD BE A GAME CHANGER WITH HAVING JUST ONE VACCINE.

I THINK BOTH OPERATIONALLY IS EASIER.

IT ACTUALLY DOESN'T HAVE THE STORAGE REQUIREMENTS.

SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS TO THE HOPEFULLY COMING JOHNSON AND JOHNSON VACCINE THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE.

BUT ESSENTIALLY, LOOK, WE HAVE 8.5 MILLION ADULTS HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA REMEMBER THE VACCINES ARE NOT YET AUTHORIZED FOR ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 16.

SO LOOKING AT 8.5 MILLION AND IF EVERYONE NEEDED THE 2 DOSE REGIMEN OBVIOUSLY WE NEED ABOUT 17 MILLION VACCINES HERE, SO YOU KNOW IT'S EASY TO DO THE MATH.

A 150,000.

AT A CLIP DOESN'T GET US AS FAR AS WE NEED TO.

AGAIN, THOSE ARE 150,000 FIRST DOSES, SO DOING THE MATH YOU NEED TO GET TO ABOUT 8.5 MILLION.

SO WE KNOW THAT THERE'S MORE CAPACITY COMING WE HAVE HEARD FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT THEY BOTH PURCHASED MORE OF THESE FIRST TWO DOSES OF PFIZER MODERNA BUT IT'S NOT COMING PROBABLY UNTIL -- THERE'S ANOTHER INCREASE LIKELY COMING IN APRIL AND THEN ANOTHER INCREASE LIKELY COMING IN JULY.

SO THOSE ARE THE TIME PERIODS THEY HAVE SAID OUT LOUD AND THEN THERE'S MAYBE A JOHNSON & JOHNSON, MAYBE THERE'S AN ASTRAZENECA VACCINE SO I DO HOPE THAT BY THE SUMMER BY JULY AND AUGUST THAT WE WILL HAVE VACCINE MORE WIDELY AVAILABLE TO THOSE THAT WANT IT BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT RIGHT NOW WE JUST ARE LIMITED BY SUPPLY.

>> AND PEOPLE ARE STILL EXPRESSING FRUSTRATION AS I SAID BEFORE BUT LAST WEEK YOU ANNOUNCED, YOU ARE OPENING UP A NEW CALL CENTER, A STATEWIDE CALL CENTER.

TALK TO US ABOUT THAT AND HOW THAT'S WORKING.

IF I WANT TO GET VACCINATED AND I LIVE IN ONE COUNTY CAN I CALL THIS CALL CENTER AND GET AN APPOINTMENT THROUGH THEM?

>> SO THE CALL CENTER'S GREAT, BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE APPOINTMENTS FOR YOU.

IT'S LIMITATIONS.

SO NO APPOINTMENT TO THE CALL CENTER BUT IT CAN TELL YOU WHERE YOUR VACCINE PROVIDERS, WHAT GROUP ARE YOU IN, ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VACCINE, AND IT CAN DIRECT YOU TO THE PLACE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.

WE ARE LOOKING AT OPTIONS FOR SCHEDULING IT IN A MORE ORGANIZED WAY BUT RIGHT NOW THAT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO OFFER.

>> ALONG THOSE LINES, THE GOVERNOR ANNOUNCED ON TUESDAY THAT HE WAS SETTING UP SOME NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTIVES.

CANDIDLY I GOT A LITTLE CONFUSED ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS AND WHAT IT MEANS CAN YOU EXPLAIN IT TO US?

>> YEAH, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF PIECES AND REALLY WHAT IT SAYS IT FRANKLY WAS GIVING ME AND MY DEPARTMENT THE AUTHORITY TO BRING ON ADDITIONAL VACCINATING PROVIDERS AND TO GIVE SOME FLEXIBILITY THERE SO PARTICULARLY THE WAY OUR STATE LAWS WERE WRITTEN, DENTISTS, FOR EXAMPLE, COULD NOT BE A VACCINE PROVIDER, WELL CLEARLY, THEY'RE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS THEY COULD GIVE VACCINE.

WHAT I SHARED YESTERDAY IN THE PRESS CONFERENCE IS WE'RE ACTUALLY NOT SHORT ON VACCINE GIVERS, WE'RE SHORT ON THE VACCINE ITSELF.

AND SO WHILE IT'S HELPFUL TO HAVE WE WANT TO HAVE ALL OF THESE FLEXIBILITIES IN PLACE BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE VACCINE PROVIDERS AT THE READY WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT SUPPLY IS GOING TO INCREASE SO WE ARE TRYING TO BUILD THAT CAPACITY, SORT OF WAITING IN THE WINGS, IF YOU WILL, FOR WHEN THE SUPPLY INCREASES SAID THE EXECUTIVE ORDER IS REALLY MORE TO HELP LAY SOME GROUNDWORK FOR FUTURE MONTHS WHEN WE KNOW WE HAVE TO INCREASE OUR CAPACITY TO VACCINATE EVEN MORE.

>> WE'VE GOT ABOUT 2 MINUTES LEFT IN SHOW.

I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT WALGREENS HAS ANNOUNCED THAT AT 300 LOCATIONS IN NORTH CAROLINA, THEY'RE GOING TO BEGIN GIVING SHOTS, HARRIS TEETER SAYS THEY'RE GOING TO BEGIN GIVING SHOTS.

I GUESS THE QUESTION A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE ASKING IS, ARE THESE VACCINES COMING FROM OUR ALLOCATION IN NORTH CAROLINA OR ARE THESE ADDITIONAL ALLOCATIONS GOING TO THEM?

>> YEAH, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

IT'S A BIT CONFUSING.

SO WE HAVE A STATE ALLOCATION, BUT ACTUALLY THE WALGREENS PROGRAM IS COMING SEPARATE.

SO WE HAVE OUR ALLOCATION, BUT THE WALGREENS IS FROM A FEDERAL RETAIL PHARMACY PROGRAM.

SO IT'S OVER AND ABOVE WHAT WE GET FOR THE STATE WHICH IS GOOD, WHICH MEANS MORE VACCINE IS COMING.

BUT I'D CAUTION YOU TO SAY LIKE RIGHT NOW THE SUPPLY EVEN IS VERY LOW IN ALL THEIR STORES THEY'RE ONLY GETTING ABOUT A 100 VACCINES A WEEK IN EACH OF THOSE 300 STORES.

SO YOU KNOW IT IS GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME.

AGAIN, THEY HAVE LIMITED SUPPLY, EVERYWHERE HAS LIMITED SUPPLY, BUT I WILL SAY TEAM MEMBER OF MINE, SIGNED UP, WHO'S OVER 65, SIGNED UP TO GET THEIR VACCINATION AT WALGREENS OVER THE WEEKEND.

SO THE ONLINE PORTAL IS WORKING FOR THEM.

IT DID CRASH YESTERDAY BUT IT'S BACK UP, AND SO [LAUGHING] >> SUPPLY AND DEMAND PROBLEM.

>> EXACTLY IT'S EVERYWHERE >> GOING FORWARD, WHAT'S YOUR BIG CONCERN WHAT YOUR BIG HOPE?

>> WELL, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT NOT HAVING ENOUGH VACCINE SUPPLY, AND I'M ALSO CONCERNED THAT FOLKS ARE HEARING SO MUCH ABOUT VACCINE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO LET DOWN THEIR GUARD ON THE 3 W'S.

I THINK THOSE ARE MY 2 BIG CONCERNS.

WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH VACCINE, AND FOLKS ARE SAYING I'M DONE WITH THE 3 W'S THAT'S A RECIPE FOR CONCERN.

SO WHAT I WOULD SAY IS WE'RE ALL GOING TO HAVE TO BE YOU KNOW WAITING ON THAT ADDITIONAL VACCINE SUPPLY, IT'S GOING TO BE IN THE SUMMER TIL ITS WIDELY AVAILABLE AND WE HAVE THOSE NEW VARIANTS OUT THERE, SO WE CAN NOT LET DOWN OUR GUARD ON THE 3 W'S, SO THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO'S WEARING A MASK, WAITING 6 FEET APART, WASHING YOUR HANDS, IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO NEED TO BE OUR WAY OF MOVING THROUGH THE WORLD UNTIL WE ARE ABLE TO BUILD UP ENOUGH VACCINE SUPPLY FOR EVERYONE.

>> HELP IS ON THE WAY, BUT EVEN IF YOU'VE HAD YOUR SHOTS, YOU CAN'T LET DOWN.

>> YEAH, BUT THE HOPEFUL NOTE IS VACCINE IS HERE.

IT'S AMAZING THAT WE HAVE 2 VACCINES ALREADY THAT WE'VE GOT NOW 1.4 MILLION DOSES SO YOU KNOW WE ARE DEFINITELY MAKING A DENT IN BEATING BACK THIS PANDEMIC, WE JUST HAVE TO STICK WITH IT AND WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS.

>> AND AND KEEP KEEP THOSE 3 W'S GOING.

SECRETARY, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO TALK TO YOU AND WE APPRECIATE YOU SPENDING TIME WITH US AND HELPING US TO TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON.

WE THANK YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR THE JOB, THEY'RE DOING AND ALSO ALL THESE HEALTH CARE WORKERS ACROSS THE STATE.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER SCHEDULED INTERVIEW WITH YOU ON FEBRUARY 24TH THE DAY THAT YOU BEGIN THOSE NEW PROTOCOLS BUT HERE'S A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT OUR VIEWERS ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SEE NEXT WEEK ON COVID UNCOVERED.

>> WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS MODEL OUR RESPONSE BASED ON THE ADULT DATA THAT WE HAVE >> THERE IS LIMITED DATA ON HOW TO TREAT COVID-19 IN CHILDREN.

HOW DOCTORS ARE FINDING NEW WAYS TO CARE FOR THEIR YOUNG PATIENTS.

♪ >> QUALITY PUBLIC TELEVISION IS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF VIEWERS LIKE YOU WHO INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT THEM IN SUPPORTING PBSNC.